RISCTOX database provides information on over 100,000 chemical agents in files that include data on:
- Classification of the substance according to European Regulation 1272/2008 (CLP)
- Specific health risks
- Specific environmental risks
- Environmental and health-related regulations
Search criteria include the name of the substance or identification numbers (CAS, EC; EINECS/ELINCS, Index No). Searches can also be based on lists of risks or specific regulations. The database is a great reference for any one that authors Safety Data Sheets, generates product labels, or simply wants to know the hazards of a chemical.
New Exclusions for Solvent Recycling and Hazardous Secondary Materials
EPA’s new final rule on the definition of solid waste creates new opportunities for waste recycling outside the scope of the full hazardous waste regulations. This rule, which went into effect on July 13, 2015, streamlines the regulatory burden for wastes that are legitimately recycled.
The first of the two exclusions is an exclusion from the definition of solid waste for high-value solvents transferred from one manufacturer to another for the purpose of extending the useful life of the original solvent by keeping the materials in commerce to reproduce a commercial grade of the original solvent product.
The second, and more wide reaching of the two exclusions, is a revision of the existing hazardous secondary material recycling exclusion. This exclusion allows you to recycle, or send off-site for recycling, virtually any hazardous secondary material. Provided you meet the terms of the exclusion, the material will no longer be hazardous waste.
Learn how to take advantage of these exclusions at Environmental Resource Center’s live webcast where you will learn:
- Which of your materials qualify under the new exclusions
- What qualifies as a hazardous secondary material
- Which solvents can be remanufactured, and which cannot
- What is a tolling agreement
- What is legitimate recycling
- Generator storage requirements
- What documentation you must maintain
- Requirements for off-site shipments
- Training and emergency planning requirements
- If it is acceptable for the recycler to be outside the US
Atlanta RCRA, DOT, and SARA Training
Tampa RCRA and DOT Training
Chicago RCRA, DOT, and IATA/IMO Training
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, safety data sheet (formerly called “material safety data sheet” or MSDS), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on safety data sheets.
OSHA Urges Storm Recovery Workers and Public to be Vigilant During Cleanup
As they recover from the impacts of severe storms and tornadoes, Florida’s emergency workers, employers, and the public at-large should be aware of the hazards they may encounter and take necessary steps to stay safe, OSHA urges.
“Recovery work should not send you to the hospital emergency room,” said Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA’s regional administrator in Atlanta. “A range of safety and health hazards exist following storms. You can minimize these dangers with knowledge, safe work practices and personal protective equipment. OSHA wants to make certain that all working men and women, including volunteers, return home at the end of the workday.”
Flooded areas have unique cleanup challenges, including dam and levee repair, removal of floodwater from structures, and repairing downed electrical wires in standing water. Workers and residents taking defensive action to protect structures or evacuate severely impacted areas may encounter hazards, such as rapidly rising streams and moving water. Only workers provided with the proper training, equipment and experience should conduct cleanup activities.
Protective measures should include the following:
- Evaluating all work areas for hazards
- Employing engineering or work practice controls to mitigate hazards
- Assuming all power lines are live
- Using portable generators, saws, ladders, vehicles, and other equipment properly
- Heeding safety precautions for traffic work zones
Nabisco Ordered to Get the Lead Out of Ginger Snap Cookies
California State Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, in conjunction with eleven California District Attorneys and the nonprofit Center for Environmental Health, announced a settlement with food industry giant Mondelēz International, Inc., formerly Kraft Foods, for selling ginger snap cookies containing lead in excess of California limits without the warning required by California’s Proposition 65. A consent judgment was filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court and is awaiting approval by a judge.
“The levels of lead found in Nabisco’s Ginger Snap cookies posed a serious public health threat, potentially impacting the brain development of our children,” said Attorney General Harris. “Parents need accurate information to make educated food choices for their children. My office will continue to enforce Proposition 65 to guarantee that all Californians are fully informed when hazardous substances and chemicals can be found in consumer products.”
Under the settlement, Mondelēz will agree to strict product sourcing and testing protocols that limit lead in its Nabisco Ginger Snap cookies to no more than 30 parts per billion per serving and will pay approximately $750,000 in civil penalties, costs and attorneys’ fees. Additionally, the company will hire a food quality auditor to train personnel, will fund ongoing independent auditing of its products to monitor for lead, and will monitor supply chains to ensure raw materials are within acceptable limits.
Lead is a neurotoxin that primarily affects the central nervous system, putting children with developing brains at a greater risk of suffering from the neurotoxic effects of lead. While no safe lead exposure threshold has been identified, California’s Proposition 65 requires a warning to consumers if they are exposed to 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving per day. The FDA recommends that children do not ingest candies that contain more than 100 parts per billion of lead.
The Attorney General’s office and District Attorneys began their investigation of Nabisco Ginger Snaps in 2013, after a Center for Environmental Health investigation into these and other cookies containing ginger. Testing revealed that a serving of Nabisco brand Ginger Snaps contained lead levels up to 9 times the level that requires a warning under Proposition 65. Mondelēz was not providing any Proposition 65 warnings to its customers.
The ginger snap cookies have since been reformulated. Lead sources in the cookies were linked to ginger and molasses. Experts have linked high lead levels in molasses to soil in which sugar is grown, and also to the manufacturing process. Sources of lead in powdered ginger have also been linked to contaminated soil in which ginger is grown, and to the brining process in which it is dried.
Mondelēz is the world’s largest manufacturer of processed snack foods. Mondelēz brands include Nabisco, Oreo, Cadbury, and Trident. Nabisco brand ginger snap cookies were the subject of the lawsuit.
Proposition 65, "The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986,” is California’s landmark law which serves to protect public health and the environment by requiring businesses to provide warnings if they expose individuals to any listed carcinogens or reproductive toxins. Proposition 65 mandates that businesses notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. It also prohibits California businesses from knowingly discharging significant amounts of listed chemicals into sources of drinking water.
This settlement is part of a series of cases that Attorney General Harris and her predecessors have successfully prosecuted under Proposition 65, in order to remove lead from a wide variety of consumer products, including Mexican candy and soda, artificial turf, jewelry, and vitamins and nutritional supplements.
The Schwan Food Company Fined $100,000 for Exposing Employees to Hazards
The subsidiary of The Schwan Food Company, a multibillion-dollar private company that sells popular frozen food brands through home delivery, the food service industry and grocery stores in North America, told OSHA the company accepted responsibility for the safety and health hazards and signed a pre-citation settlement agreement with OSHA on January 15.
"We are very encouraged that Schwan recognized the safety failures that have reoccurred and is taking full responsibility," said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta East Area Office. "The company settled the citations immediately and signed the enhanced compliance agreement as part of its commitment to protect its workers and operate safely. When employers are committed to safety, everyone wins."
The agency issued repeated citations for failing to:
OSHA previously cited Schwan Global Supply in 2013 for similar violations at the facility.
The agency issued serious citations to the company for failing to:
- Develop written emergency shutdown procedures for the refrigeration system
In its settlement, Schwan Global Supply will pay penalties of $100,000. In addition, the agreement includes extensive enhancements and commitments for safety and health improvements such as:
- Assuring only authorized, properly trained employees perform service and maintenance on machinery
- Hiring a third-party consultant to conduct an audit of the facility focused on equipment, fall, electrical, and guarding hazards
- Conducting training for employees on emergency shut-down, contractors, first-responder, standard operating procedures for new machinery and keeping OSHA 300 logs
- Meeting with OSHA officials quarterly to discuss the status of compliance
Subfloor Systems Inc. Cited After Worker Falls from Balcony
OSHA began an inspection of Subfloor Systems, Inc., on July 29, 2015, when a worker required hospitalization after falling off a balcony at a Fort Worth commercial construction site. The company’s failure to ensure employees use fall protection resulted in the willful violation, and failing to train workers in recognizing and avoiding fall hazards, specifically in a language that each employee understands, led to the serious violation. Proposed penalties total $66,990.
“Subfloor Systems put its workers in harm’s way and exposed them to preventable fall injuries. Employers are responsible for providing training and fall protection,” said Josh Bernstein, OSHA’s acting area director in Fort Worth, Texas. “Subfloor Systems did neither. The company must take corrective action immediately before another worker needlessly suffers injury or worse because of its neglect.”
Employers to Pay Trucker Fired for Reporting Safety Concerns
All the truck driver wanted was a safe vehicle to operate. His employer fired him instead.
“This driver was fired for doing the right thing. A defective truck is a danger not only to its driver, but to other motorists on the road. Commercial truck drivers have a legal right to report safety issues to their employer without fear of termination or retaliation. Violating the law can put workers at risk and has costly consequences for the offending employer,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
Shortly after starting work with Brindi in 2011, the driver began notifying the company of defective equipment on his truck, including ineffective brakes, steering issues, non-functioning turn signals, leaks, and a cracked windshield. He requested these conditions be repaired. The company refused. In February 2012, the driver contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which inspected the truck and found 16 violations. The truck was pulled from service until repairs were made. The driver notified Brindi and was summarily discharged.
The worker filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA, which found merit to the complaint. OSHA has now ordered Brindi to pay the driver $32,642, $20,000 in lost wages, $10,000 in punitive damages and $3,060.02 in attorney’s fees and to expunge the driver’s employment records.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government.
Frontier Ag Inc. Exposes Workers to Fall and Grain Dust Hazards
"The grain handling industry is a high-hazard industry where workers can be exposed to numerous serious and life-threatening hazards," said Judy Freeman, OSHA's area director in Wichita. "Frontier Ag needs to reevaluate its housekeeping plan for grain dust removal and make immediate improvements to protect workers on the job."
Frontier Ag, Inc., is an agribusiness company in Quinter, Kansas. The cooperative has 32 locations throughout Kansas with its administrative office in Oakley. The company employs about 330 employees, 19 of whom work at the Quinter location.
Proposed penalties total $65,000.
Mississippi Polymers Inc. Fined $56,340 After Two Employees Suffer Severe Injury
Six days later on October 4, a 59-year-old mill operator caught her hand in a print roller; the machine crushed her pinky finger so badly that a portion of the finger, up to the first joint, had to be amputated. Both workers were attempting to clean the machinery when the incidents happened.
Proposed penalties total $56,340.
"This employer cannot continue to expose its employees to unguarded machinery and other serious safety hazards," said Eugene Stewart, OSHA's area director in Jackson. "Two workers were severely injured when protective guarding was available and could have prevented such incidents."
Berlin Builders Inc. Continues to Expose Workers to Hazards
The serious violation involved temporary handrails for a staircase not provided. Proposed penalties total $54,450.
"Berlin Builders was just incorporated in March 2015 and already has been inspected by OSHA 20 times in the tri-state area. Eight citations have been issued to the company so far and all have included violations for lack of fall protection and improper use of ladders," said Jean Kulp, director of OSHA's Allentown Area Office. "Despite knowing what OSHA safety standards should be followed to prevent falls and other injuries in residential construction work, Berlin Builders continues to ignore these safeguards. Jeopardizing worker safety will not be tolerated."
Oregon Businesses Invited to Take a 'Safety Break' May 11
It's a day to pause and reflect on why workplace safety and health matter. It's a day to turn that reflection into sustained action to prevent on-the-job injury, illness, and death.
Now in its 13th year, Safety Break encourages employers to bolster workplace safety and health with training, award recognition gatherings, or other creative activities.
Oregon OSHA coordinates Safety Break, which is voluntary for employers. Businesses can decide what activities are most beneficial to their workforce.
"Safety Break is an opportunity for employers to remind their workers, and themselves, about the importance they attach to safety in the workplace," said Michael Wood, Oregon OSHA administrator. "A safety stand-down such as this provides an opportunity to celebrate past successes, to reflect about the remaining challenges, and to share a renewed commitment for the future."
Safety Break encourages employees and managers to work together to identify safety and health concerns. The result of this cooperation can lead to fewer injuries and reduced workers’ compensation costs for employers.
The prizes will be given to participating companies as part of a random drawing. The Oregon SHARP Alliance is sponsoring the contest.
Stepped-Up Enforcement Leads to Federal Railroad Administration’s Highest-Ever Penalty Collection Rate
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently announced that its stepped-up enforcement of railroad safety regulations led to the highest-ever civil penalty collection rate in the agency’s 50-year history.
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, the agency will collect 75% of all civil penalties it issued to railroads for violating federal safety regulations—a six percent increase over FY2014, and the largest percentage rate ever collected by the agency.
“Safety must be the number one priority for every railroad, and the Department of Transportation will continue to take aggressive action against railroads who fail to follow safety rules,” said U.S Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “A strong safety enforcement program is critical to prevent accidents, save lives and move our country forward.”
FRA’s collection rate is the highest in the agency’s history and significantly higher than previous years.
Last year, more than 6,485 railroad company violations resulted in civil penalties. The largest portion of those violations, 29%, was for motive power and equipment violations, followed by 26% for track violations.
“Setting a record for collections is an important milestone, but it is just one element of FRA’s broader effort to achieve a safer rail system,” said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg. “As we continue to aggressively enforce safety regulations, FRA will also continue to implement new, innovative solutions to increase safety.”
The stepped-up enforcement of safety regulations is part of the Federal Railroad Administration’s larger, comprehensive effort to increase safety of the nation’s rail system. Administrator Feinberg has also prioritized railroad crossing safety, improving the safety of hazmat and crude transport, increasing transparency and working more closely with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
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